Musings of a Prodigal

Tuition Increases: The Untold Story

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Perhaps the most interesting information that I gathered from my analysis is some basic data on the inflation of college tuition. According to FinAid.com, average college tuition rates historically increase at double the rate of inflation. Even though the worsening economy has required schools to increase their tuition in higher proportions to inflation (see the Business Week article for 2009 rates), the rate increases are still modest (4.4% in 2009 for private colleges). Compare that with The King's College, which increased its tuition rates 9.8% from 2006-2007, 10% from 2007-2008 and 11% from 2008-2009.

Admittedly, I have limited data to analyze (if anyone has tuition rates from earlier years, I would love to see them), yet regardless of data, there are significant problems with this policy. In economic terms, The King's College (and other schools with tuition inflation) is at least guilty of misinformation and at the worst, guilty of cross-subsidizing (charging one group of consumers more than other consumers for the same product). Let me show you what I mean with some examples.

1) Existing student scholarships do not increase along with tuition inflation, so students receive a smaller ratio of scholarships to tuition. A student with a $10K scholarship at a school that costs $20K receives scholarship funds at a 1:2 ratio, or half of his tuition. If tuition increases the next year by 10%, tuition will then cost $22K while the scholarship remains at $10K, and the student's ratio decreases to 5:11, or 45% of his tuition.

2) 4-year cost estimates of college costs rarely take tuition inflation into account, unfairly saddling students with more debt than they anticipate. A student that expects to pay $25,000 annually for 4 years ($100K in total) would actually pay $116K total with 10% annual increases (25K + 27.5K + 30K + 33.3K).

3) The admissions department occasionally increases the annual scholarship cap to encourage new students to attend. For example, the Founder's Scholarship used to be the highest-paying scholarship at $10K annually, but new students can now receive up to $17K annually, depending on their grades + test scores. One could even say that the school can afford to increase scholarships through the process of tuition inflation - by charging existing students with one hand while reducing costs for new students with the other. This is the definition of a cross-subsidy.

By increasing tuition substantially each year, TKC imposes a fee upon current students to subsidize the increased operating costs of having more students, offering more programs, etc. This way, they keep initial tuition rates lower to appeal to potential high school students. If a college has 300 students paying $25K annually, and tuition increases 10% each year, that represents an extra $750,000 in revenue for the school (the same as 30 new students @ $25K). Remember that 30 students is roughly equal to 45% of incoming first-time freshmen in 2008 (source) -- and that the money received through the 10% increase is essentially "free" of additional costs incurred by providing services to new students. Who says no to free money?

Now does this system somehow make King's worse than other schools? Well, only as a matter of degree. Do any schools adjust their scholarship disbursements to correspond with tuition inflation, or make an effort to inform their consumers (students) about the annual increases? Yet even though many schools have this same problem, few increase tuition by 10% every year. The King's College administration should carefully evaluate this policy and take steps to mitigate the unfortunate consequences for students.

Applied Nerdage

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Recently I have been working out the most cost-efficient method for me to finish taking classes. Including this semester, I have 36 credits remaining before I can graduate from King's. My basic options are 1) finishing all my work at King's, in the form of this spring semester, one full fall semester, and one 6-credit spring semester; 2) finishing 30 credits at Kings, in the form of this spring semester and next fall, and taking 6 credits at another school in the city (either over the summer or during the school year next year).

Taking outside credits is certainly cheaper than King's on a per-credit basis ($300 for some City of New York schools compared to $875 for TKC), but I lose some financial aid from King's if I don't take their classes. Anyway, my analysis suggests that I should take classes in Spring 2011 and graduate with the rest of my class in May 2011 (instead of the semester-earlier graduation I was considering). Why? Most simply, staggering TKC and CUNY classes can allow me to receive more state and federal financial aid, and the benefits I would reap from graduating early are limited (for example, I won't be moving and starting a new job right away because of our current lease in Astoria).

This analysis did reveal some interesting facts about college tuition, however.

Married Life: Summary

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Hello all,

As you may have noticed, I return to this blog from an exceptionally long absence from writing. I think I have a pretty good excuse, since I got married in January.

The wedding was wonderful. It went by very quickly--so quickly, in fact, that the only food Alyse and I ate was two bites of cheesecake apiece and a sliver of cake that we shared. The ceremony came off without a hitch--although my groomsmen could watch me bending my knees so that I wouldn't faint--and the reception was beautiful, thanks to Alyse's cousin Justyn.

Recently, we have been trying to determine our summer plans: if we should stay in the City (where we both have jobs but need to pay for housing) or move back to Iowa (where we can stay with Alyse's father for free, but don't yet have jobs). Also, we have both received interesting job offers for the future: Alyse may be able to teach an art class at a Manhattan YMCA and I have the opportunity to tutor high school students in the fall.

I also have my fall classes lined up: Culture and Aesthetics with Prof. Middleman, Ethics with Prof. Kreeft, History of Economic Thought with Prof. Tokarev, Constitutional Law with Prof. Tubbs, and probably Financial Accounting with an incoming business professor. Alyse and I will be living off campus, so I'll fill in the hours that I'm on campus with my work for IT.

I do have some new topics to write about. In my next post, I want to discuss how marriage has changed how I manage my time, what I have learned and how I need to improve. Additionally, I will talk about how Alyse and I are developing our communication skills. Later this summer, I will hopefully be able to develop my conception of the original three spheres of government (not executive, legislative, and judicial) and their proper organization.

Until then, I'll try to make an effort to update more regularly. I hope you are all well and enjoying spring in all its beauty (and not New York fickleness - we had flurries the other day!). And on Easter, I will be thinking of all my family and friends as Alyse and I celebrate Christ's conquest of death and sin.

Take care,

Jordan

Moving Up: An Engaging Discussion

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:50:00 +0000

So, about this whole marriage thing ... it's really great, but there's something that gets me about it - maybe its that long engagement thing. I'm not too down with that.

Actually, that's not really how it happened. Alyse and I were praying about our wedding, and we got this sense that the date wasn't going to be when we thought it was. We talked to some people about the wisdom of moving it up and got mixed responses. So we kept praying. One night, we got our answer - God told us "January." So we're moving the date up to January 3, 2009.

This is very exciting and scary at the same time, because there is a lot to do between now and then. We're planning a wedding while school, work, and (any semblance of a) social life fight for our limited time. Neither of us have ever planned a wedding, etc. But it is exciting because I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with Alyse, to keep learning how to love her in new and deeper ways.

We need your prayer in this; prayer for wisdom, prayer for provision, prayer for sanity. We're stepping out in faith -- one of the most important parts of this engagement is that it is God's timing and not ours (I was ready to wait until after college) -- so we want one of the most important parts of our marriage to be God's timing and our faith in His active role in our relationship. That's a hard balance to maintain because everything in the world screams against it - and God is so paradoxial and difficult to understand that what He wants often doesn't makes sense.

We want to be where God is, where God leads us. He guides our steps and makes our paths straight. We want to walk towards Jesus (like Peter on the water), not caring what is around us or underneath us or behind us, as long as He's there. And we're still trying to figure out how to do that in the daily grind. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers ...

Thanks.

The Big News

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:41:00 +0000

I got engaged. Yep. I am *extremely* excited.

Pictures of the ring will follow. Along with the story.

There and Back Again

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:39:00 +0000

Well, I just recently got back from my trip home to Iowa. Which was pleasant, refreshing, and completely enjoyable -- spending time with my family and Alyse, and certain special friends as well. Now, in New York, I miss the open spaces, blue sky, fields, driving, and I especially miss the stars. They were so beautiful one night -- thousands of celestial pinpricks strewn across the sky.

While in Iowa I had a lot of good conversations with my parents -- I really felt a new-found respect and admiration for them, one that no doubt is spawned from our maturing relationship. I also made a concerted effort to show love to my family (something I wasn't very good at before), and I felt like I learned and benefited from their company in all new ways. I hadn't been home for nearly eight months, so there was a lot of time for maturing in the interim.

After coming back to New York, I got thrown into the new school year. I am a Chamberlain for the House of Lewis this year, which means that I fulfill R.A.-like responsibilities, as well as attempt to build community, enforce rules, and serve others in student housing. After I got in at 3 AM Saturday morning, I had to move my stuff between apartments that day -- so I spent four hours (with some God-given helpers) moving tubs and boxes and lamps three blocks up Sixth Ave. Later that day, I had Chamberlain training, and I finally crashed on my bed around 1 AM.

Sunday (yesterday), however, was awesome. I puttered around the apartment in the morning, waiting for my roommate Kyle to get into the city. After he showed up, we took off to Brooklyn Tab(ernacle), and heard an awesome sermon on how Jesus transforms the "natural" to the "supernatural" in all areas of our life. Kyle then shared this great insight with me about mountaintop experiences.

One of the promises of Christ is that "the best is yet to come," not just in heaven, but on earth and in our lives as well. His perfection of our selves is a process. Basically, then, the "mountaintop experience" is a temporary taste of what is to come -- jumping ahead in the process, if you will. It gives you something to strive toward, even if you don't experience it daily at first. Kyle also related the parable of the man who saw the priceless pearl in a field, then sold everything he had to possess that pearl. Seeing the pearl is the equivalent to the mountaintop experience.

I was blown away by this perspective. It showed it to me in a whole new light -- I have been telling as many people as I can about it. Just the idea that those experiences are something that Christ has in store for us ... something that we are discovering through Christ ... it gives me chills.

Then our Chamberlain meeting later that day really brought us closer together as a team, which was encouraging. We also listened to a Tim Keller sermon about the discipline of friendship -- how we are called to be friend-like with everyone in the Christian community. There are different levels of friendship, obviously, but we must be willing to be both deep (intimate) and regular (consistent) with our friendships, even when we don't feel like it.

So Sunday was challenging and very encouraging -- God gave me some direction for how he wants me to show love this year. Please pray as I continue to listen for His voice and guidance. Also pray for my next few days -- I'll be at the Summit, which is the annual leadership orientation conference. It will be challenging as we work out what our House will look like this year, and as we learn how to become effective (yet humble) servant-leaders. I feel like there will be a lot to learn (in a good way), so pray that I stay focused.

Thank you for your support ... and with any luck, I'll be posting more this year. If I ask for your prayer, the least I can do is keep you informed. May God give you His peace and quiet today, in the midst of the pre-school business.

This Summer: In Summary

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:23:00 +0000

Well, it has been quite the busy summer. As you may know, I have been working over the summer with my school, providing IT support. I will be working into the fall with them as well. Anyways, summer has been filled with stuff, and lots of things have changed. Maybe the biggest changes are with Alyse.

Alyse, my girlfriend, has been attending Pratt Institute (an exclusive art school in Brooklyn) this last semester. She also stayed at Pratt over the summer, working with the America Reads/Counts program and taking some classes. However, fed up with her living conditions and the exorbitant cost of attendance, she started looking at other schools in the city. The school she had her eye on, the School of Visual Arts (SVA), had four spots open for the fall and hundreds of applicants. Alyse applied and got in (amazingly), placing her at a school that is less than a fifteen minute walk from my apartment. However, it seemed things were not destined to end well. SVA has housing space for only a third of its students, and all the residences were full by the time Alyse was accepted. She started looking for apartments, eventually widening her search to New Jersey, but to no real avail. The good opportunities kept falling through.

One day, fed up with the whole situation, she decided to ask my Asst. Director of Residence Life (Jacinda) if there was any way she could get housing at King's. Surprisingly, Jacinda said that was a real possibility. After a few weeks of deliberation and working out the details, King's is putting Alyse up in one of their apartments with three senior girls. The apartment is one of the best in the building, Alyse's total cost for school is about half of what she would've paid at Pratt, and I am a sparse two and a half minutes away from her building. God is working in some really cool ways!

Alyse and I have learned a lot about each other this summer, and we have spent a lot of time together. I have seen her every day this summer (Wow! I didn't realize it was every day), as she usually comes over to my apartment to eat, avoiding her mouse- and cockroach-infested kitchen. We have been attending church together at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and we've managed to take some time to get away, once to the Elizabethtown (NJ) IKEA, once to Pittsburgh to see my family at Uncle Dave and Aunt Karen's house, and one weekend to wander around the city with Linda Wilde.

That was actually this last weekend - we saw a lot, but there is still much more to see. I have some pictures on Picasa online of the weekend, so feel free to take a look. We spent most of our time in the Financial District, but we also took Linda to the Brooklyn Tab and St. John's cathedral. The cathedral was amazing - it includes the longest open length of any cathedral worldwide (601 ft), and it even included a special message with my name on it (link coming).

As to what has been happening with me: I started meeting with our Dean of Students, Eric Bennett, a few weeks ago. If I have ever met a man who is right with God, it is Eric - he respects students, yet speaks with authority; he's willing to listen to what you hear from God, and he is so in tune with God that he doesn't hesitate to do everything in his power to help you; he is humble, strong, and yet human, as he freely admits his struggles. I respect him immensely. Anyways, God has been using Eric to prod me in completely new directions, putting me in positions where my strength is insufficient, where I need to depend on God completely or fall flat on my face. This is exciting and scary at the same time. I will be sure to keep you updated as the year progresses.

One of the other things I will be doing this year is House leadership - you may be familiar with the House system at King's, where every student is assigned a certain House (like a fraternal organization) that provides inter-student fellowship and support. There are four male houses (Lewis, Reagan, Churchill, and Bonhoeffer) and five female houses (Thatcher, Barton, [Susan B] Anthony, [Queen] Elizabeth [I], and [Sojourner] Truth), with 20 - 50 members. They are pitted against each other throughout the year in various intellectual, artistic, and physical competitions. Each house has a President, Chamberlain (an R.A. of sorts), Helmsman (to help freshmen students integrate into the school and House), and a Scholar (charged with the intellectual development of the House). I am the House of C.S. Lewis' Chamberlain, so it will be interesting to see how that works out. Additionally, one of my roommates is the Lewis Helmsman and another is Churchill's Scholar.

This year will be challenging in entirely welcome ways. My relationship with Alyse will be challenging as we will both be too busy to spend much time together alone (if that makes sense), and much of our relationship before was exactly that. Time together alone. My schoolwork will be challenging - three philosophic classes will make sure of that. My leadership role will be challenging - learning how to combine justice (from my R.A. role) and love (from my new calling). My relationship with God will be be challenging as I strive to give myself up every day so He becomes blatantly evident in my life. My friendships will be challenging as I feel called to be much more "social" than I was last year - for what good is love if it is not shared? My future will be challenging - if only because I don't know what will happen. I do know that it is good hands, however. I pray that God will continue to be my strength and direction, and hope that you will pray similarly for me.

I am looking forward to coming home in five short days - but I still need to pack some stuff up. I will be leaving with all my stuff packed, ready to move into my new room the day after I get back from Iowa. It will be a fun time all around. Alyse and I are traveling Tuesday morning, and we are both looking forward to seeing our families and eating food in generous portions.

God bless you for taking the time to read this rather long post ... your thoughts and prayers are always appreciated.

Ah.......

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:53:00 +0000

It has been a long time. Again. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to have 30 or 45 minutes to myself.

New York is beautiful today. Spring is in the air ... the thermomenter hovers around 55, and a cool breeze is blowing down the street. I look forward to Spring Break (in less than two weeks!) for the relaxation that can occur, in sharp contrast to the business of day-to-day life.

My classes this semester have been less mentally challenging, but often more difficult. There is a lot of busy-work and memorization, and the pleasant distraction of Alyse only 45 minutes away has left me with much less "free" time than I enjoyed last semester. To be fair, however, this semester is helping me understand how to be more efficient with my time, both scholastically and recreationally, and I had far too much "free" time last semester anyways. It is a welcome trade-off.

One of my Iowan friends is in the area this week, and I've been taking her and her three friends around to some of the various NYC functions. On Tuesday we will attend a show that I saw a few weeks ago, a remake of a Mark Twain comedy. Sometime this week, we will also be going to the top of the Empire State Building to see the sunset, around 6 PM. Perhaps you'll see some photographs here after that ...

Decisions about the future are starting to build up as well. I really want to stay in the city over the summer and work for the college. Also, roommate decisions for next semester will have to be resolved in the next few weeks, as well as elections for next year's House leadership. My good friend Matthias has showed me an internship opportunity for sometime in the future, so we will look into that together. I feel my time in New York slipping away, so I try every day to make the most of every hour.

And in that pursuit, I should leave you now, and return to my homework. Perhaps I'll get to bed early tonight. We will see. May God bless you and keep you as He's keeping me.

Christmas in the City

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:37:00 +0000

I'm not a Christmas “hater.” Christmas is a great time of year. Jingles and carols run 22Ks through my head, Christmas lights put me at ease (well, not the rapidly blinking ones. Photovoltaic seizure, anyone?), and I think that the Macy's elves are actually cute in those little green turtlenecks. But there are some things about Christmas in the City that drive me up a wall. A formal list of grievances follows.

1) All those people. Tourists, actually. Again, nothing against tourists. Nice people, very respectful (except when they're drunk ...). It's just that they don't understand that sidewalks are designed for walking, not for standing around staring up at skyscrapers. Of course, tourists do that normally, all year ‘round, in fact. It’s just that there are thousands and millions and kajillions more of them now, crowding out those of us who actually have somewhere to go. If you ever tour New York, please, please, please don't fill the sidewalk. Stand to one side or the other. Thank you.

2) Macy's. Now, this may just be because I walk by it at least four times a day. Still, Macy's, you're getting on my nerves! A gigantic Christmas tree of lights that illuminates a three-block radius around the store, including both of King's apartments is a great idea! Not. In conjunction with #1, people are now posing on the street, getting their picture taken "in front of Macy's." But they're obstructing the sidewalks! People!

3) Smoking on the street. You may be aware that it is illegal to smoke inside of a building in New York. Subway station, hotel, elevator, basement, bomb shelter/cellar – all alike, no smoking. This, of course, means that people smoke on the street instead. Normally, this isn't such a big deal, because you can see them blowing smoke. If you're walking toward them, you hold your breath and powerwalk past. With Christmas weather, however, everyone is blowing steam, and it looks exactly the same. You’re lulled into complacency, and you stop watching for the telltale signs. Every now and then, you'll get an unexpected lungful of regurgitated Marlboro Light. Just the thing to brighten your day!

4) Elves. Don’t laugh. Do you honestly think that anyone who is “Santa’s Little Helper” for forty hours a week is going to be a happy person?

5) Wind. Weather in general, but especially the wind. Did you know that if you take a road running north to south, line it with tall buildings, and put it really near the Atlantic coast, it’s bound to turn into a wind tunnel? This is not an exaggeration. I step onto the balcony outside of my apartment to test the weather—no wind. Five minutes later, I step onto Sixth Avenue and a straight-line wind is shoving me down the street. Those evil little needles of cold stab through my coat, crystallize my still-damp hair, and turn my ears unflattering shades of pale pink. Now, you may say that winter weather has nothing to do with Christmas. You would be wrong. First of all, it’s December. Everyone knows that it gets windy in December. There’s also something more at work: God must be speaking to us. Obviously, He’s telling everyone to get out of Midtown for the holiday season. Someplace where they can breathe clean air, and where the snow doesn’t become slush when it hits the sidewalk. Like Canada. No sidewalks (or Macy’s) there. God says: GO TO CANADA FOR CHRISTMAS. You heard it here first.

Christmas has its obvious advantages. Food, gifts, materialism, increased GDP, credit card debt, and, oh yeah, Christ’s birth. Anyway, the disadvantages of Christmas in the City are pretty obvious. Actually, the more I think about it, the more it seems like all these irritations are supposed to be telling me something. You know, like "go home." (Just in case I was tempted otherwise) Perhaps God is taking money from my mother. I wouldn’t be surprised.

I got the message, God. Now please get those tourists out of my way!
~~

Other than that, life continues as usual. Everything is building to a fever pitch of sorts as we prepare for finals, etc. I'm going to be busy writing papers this weekend, but that is tempered by the news that my laptop is in the mail back to me, hopefully fixed and well again. I should get it tomorrow, and productivity will skyrocket. Not that it hasn't been high recently ...

Today, I bought two ties on the street. It was a pretty good deal ...

My papers are calling me. Back into the grind ... wishing you a stress-free holiday season.

How Time Passes

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 22:58:00 +0000

I can hardly believe that it has been over a month since I last posted. Time seems to have no meaning here, in the city, at school. I look back to see fervent utilization of every hour, so many hours in every day, every week, but at the same time how quickly the days have gone. I remember Fall Retreat like it was yesterday.

One of the reasons I haven't been posting is the unfortunate failure of my computer. It just gave up the ghost one day -- I suspect a fan died and fried some valuable internal component. While I wait for Dell to get their act together warranty-wise, my life has taken on a new simplicity. Reading, homework, spending time with friends -- all of these things are much easier than walking over to school to use a lab computer. So my time on the infernal machines has decreased. Of course, there are tradeoffs. More steps to take for homework, less convience, and so forth. But only for a season. Hopefully.

I have so much to say that the details will have to fall by the wayside. So much has happened since I talked to you last. Midterms last week took a toll on my sleep hours -- I only slept for about 15 hrs in six days, but God blessed me with alertness while I was awake. The same is not true for this week, but I do have more time to sleep.

My grades are improving ... instead of low 'B's in English, I now recieve low to mid 'A's. The same is true for most of my classes. The grade here is so much more rewarding as well, knowing that I put hours of my life into it. The fruits of my toil are sweet indeed. If you ever want to read any of my papers, just email me. I'd be more than willing to shoot them off. I have a few favorites.

I have volunteered to help with the next Inviso, the student visit weekend. I will be one of the Student Ambassadors, a role I'm rather excited to play. That will be taking place the second weekend of November. Also in November -- Thanksgiving. I'll be taking Amtrack to Pittsburgh to meet up with my grandparents, aunt & uncle, and immediate family for an extended weekend. I am very excited to get out of the city ... especially with the ease of transportation. All I have to do is walk over to Penn Station (about 2-3 blocks). No hour-long subway ride to JFK, no NJ Transit rail to Newark, just a 10 min walk.

I love the city, especially now that summer's warmth has irreversably left. It is getting much colder, the sky is grey. It reminds me of November, my favorite month. Even though the weather is right, it doesn't feel like it can be November already. Strange but true: the leaves haven't turned yet. When they do, hopefully on a sunny Saturday, I'll take a book to Central Park, read by the water, and listen to the rustle of the breeze among the falling leaves. Another nice thing about the breeze: it gets rid of the nasty, putrid scent you catch wiffs of when walking down Sixth Ave.

This has gone on for quite long enough. I have so much more to say, but I don't want to put anyone off from reading the post in its entirety. Perhaps it will be easier now to post regularly, after I get back into the schedule of things. I know much better now how to manage my time.

Thinking of you,

J

After a Long Period of Absence,

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:13:00 +0000

there is nothing better than trying to remember what has happened. Let's see.

Friday -- Lewis retreat @ Dr. Jackson's house. That was quite the event. I was attempting to turn in my politics paper, and helping others with formatting their papers, when I realized that I had missed my train. Fortunately, another group of guys was going up later, so I rode up with them. We ended up having a spirited discussion (I don't recall the topic, probably the validity of the War in Iraq), and then gathering around a fire for s'mores and more conversation. The O'Dhouls (non-alcoholic beer) and cigars were passed around - I abstained on both counts. Eventually, a group was dispatched for a secret mission in the dead of night -- a mission that ended an abject failure. Unfortunately, I am forbidden to disclose further information.

Saturday -- went hiking with Dr. J and his son, Zach. The hills were much bigger than anything I've seen in Iowa ... ate lunch near a placid lake. The park we hiked in was five minutes away from the train station, but it took three trips to fit all of us in Dr. J's car. Eventually, we ended up missing our train by minutes, and waiting an hour and a half for the next one. Finally, we got back to NYC, where homework awaited us.

Sunday -- MSNY again. Campus ministry hosted a lunch after church -- I wasn't going to pass on free pizza. At 5, I attended a lasagna party in Herald Towers -- it was good to have homemade food again.

Monday - Friday-- School as normal. Breadbreakers on Tuesday. Interviewed for and received a TA position with the adjunct New Testament prof ... had to create a powerpoint for him. First Macro quiz on Wednesday, first Western Civ literature quiz (over Gilgamesh) on Thursday. Visited the NYPL for a College Writing I assignment. Meeting of the houses of Thatcher and Lewis on Friday, to discuss our city involvement project -- working with Student Venture, a Campus Crusade organization targeted at highschools. Walked around, trying to meet kids. Met none.

Saturday/Sunday -- worked on a presentation for Macro, a test for NT, a paper for English. Went to MSNY again. Had another campus-ministry-sponsored lunch. Began to discuss the nature of time -- i.e., does choose to limit himself within time, or is he outside of time? Also -- is time created by God, or by men to measure creation? That was a great time-waster.

Monday -- school again. Presented for Macro. That was passable. Worked on my paper, studied for NT test. Had a Lewis meeting to plan our drama for the fall retreat.

Tuesday -- today. NT test was a killer. I'll be very happy with a 'B.' A low B, mind you. Worked on my paper some more. Ended up 45 minutes late for my Breadbreakers meeting.

A busy week

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:34:00 +0000

and no time to write. I can barely remember a week ago. Went to Costco on Friday with Matthias, Kelly, and my roommates ... had some suitcase problems on the way back. Matthias's "Juggernaut" had some problems with melting wheels -- it contained nearly 60 lbs of foodstuffs.

Saturday -- went to IKEA in Jersey during the day ... bought two barstools with backs -- I don't know what they are called. Apparently IKEA pays NJ Transit Authority for buses on the half hour to IKEA every Saturday - there were so many people there, I can see how they make a profit. We had lunch at the buffet there, and I got some really good Swedish meatballs. Yummy. On the way to the apartments, I carried a 35 lbs bookshelf on my back -- I had to watch Matt's feet in front of me so I didn't run into anyone. That evening, we went to a party in 4B6 -- Joanna Wagner invited us and some others over for burgers and fries. It was a delightful meal with about 10 people there, and then I went over to a wedding celebration reception. Two King's students got married over the summer, so this was the official celebration. They were in the middle of starting swing dancing - I didn't get involved, to my great regret. I did play HORSE with pool though. And lost.

Sunday -- went to church at MSNY again. New location was about a 30 min walk through Times Square and up Broadway, service was good. Josh, one of the youth directors, invited Matt and I to play Halo sometime. Actually, the six of us got separated quite a bit on the way. Went out for pizza afterwards as a group. In the evening, had our "hazing" for Lewis. Involved going into a restaurant, helping people in a store, convincing people to say the name C.S. Lewis without mentioning his works, singing "Sound of Music" on the stairway of Columbia Universities' Library, carrying Kyle up the hill at Riverside Park. Zachary washed our feet back at his apartment. It was a great experience.

Monday - Labor Day, slept in late. That was nice. There was also a picnic on Roosevelt Island, played some soccer, some football, watched some ultimate frisbee. Ate four burgers and a hot dog. Paid $5. Well worth it. Worked on homework, I think?

Tuesday - Thursday -- School. Had a Lewis meeting Wednesday afternoon, English paper due same day, nothing else. Boring. Big Politics paper due tomorrow, Lewis retreat to Dr. Jackson's starts at 3:30 PM. Should work on that tonight, probably.

The Weekend Awaits

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:37:00 +0000

... but not until classes finish for the day. Yesterday was quite interesting - again, I didn't want to get up, but I did get to class ten minutes early. This lecture class was Introduction to Politics, with Dr. Innes, and I sat in the front row. Because I like sitting in front. The lecture was very interesting -- along with Matt and Matthias, I got to talk a lot. The class encourages participation, which is nice.
New Testament followed Poli, and I was a little less excited about that class. It was taught by a new adjunct - he also pastors in the Village, so he's pretty busy. During class, he offered a T.A. position - to which I applied. I felt it would be a good way to get a better feel of the professor. We did discuss an interesting idea regarding belief circles, and a rather extensive discussion ensued, actually pulling us slightly off track.
We had a forty minute lunch break before Western Civilization, but I made the mistake of going back to the Vogue instead of going to Subway or something like that, putting me in WCiv three minutes early - the last person in class. Western Civ looks like it will be fun as well - the extra credit opportunities were intuitive, and seemed interesting. Anyway, at 1:50, I was done for the day. I went to the King's library for a while to work on Politics, and sat at the same desk as Provost Olasky. That was neat.
Had leftover spaghetti, used the last of the meat for burgers, and had an otherwise slapstick supper. Went up on the roof with Matt after the meal -- talked with Matthias, as well. Then some sophomore girls came up, and Matthias played some of his guitar compositions. We got embroiled in another discussion (I don't remember how it started - it gradually became transubstantiation and later deistic evolution), and I walked off to call Mom. Eventually, Angie came up to invite us to one of the guy rooms, where they were watching the original Die Hard. We all moved downstairs ... I must admit, I fell asleep for part of the movie. I think I got the gist, though.
After the movie ended (around 1:30), Matt and I walked the girls home, and then hit the sack at 2. Good thing there is no class on Fridays ...

C-1 -- First Day of Classes

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:11:00 +0000

Classes started yesterday at 9 AM. I got up at 7, read the Wall Street Journal, ate breakfast, jumped in the shower, and ended up four minutes early for class. Since most of the class was already there, I got a couple odd looks when I walked into Macroeconomics. The class was very interesting, and it looks like it will be challenging (read:difficult). Following Macro was College Writing I. CW looks like it will be interesting as well, especially since it is a "Introduction to New York" course, as noted by Prof. Campbell. Class wrapped up around 11:50, so then I went back the apartment for lunch.
In the afternoon, I went to get my ESB building pass ... ended up waiting for an hour as those who came in before their 2 PM Logic class flooded the office. After that, I worked on my Macro assignment - doing my "entry interview," ten questions answered in 100 words or less. After four years of King's, every student takes the same "interview." Apparently, it's a way to judge how well you learned.
Later in the evening, Chris Ross called to tell us about a party we and some other rooms were invited to attend. The party, held in Herald 3C5, ended up being two rooms of freshmen boys and Chris' room. Apparently, 3C5 is the "sister" room to Chris' room, and the girls wanted to adopt us as "little brother" rooms. They did feed us (banana pie!), and there was French press coffee, and we had a stimulating discussion about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Then the discussion broke into smaller parts, and I talked to Emily and Matt for a while about the Founder's competition last February. Matt actually determined that there was five Founder's winners in our room at one time, which was intriguing.
Around 11, the conversation shifted to the sophomore level Plato & Aristotle class, so the remaining freshmen (Emily, David, and I) took our leave of the party. Quite enjoyable, overall. When we got back, we had another brief discussion with Zachary, who stopped by to say hello. I think I ended up in bed around 12:30.

NSO - No Small Operation

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:50:00 +0000

Or simply New Student Orientation, part II. It all started with photos taken for our King's ID, plus free breakfast wraps and OJ. A surprisingly good combination, actually. Then we went to the City Room for an address from the interim President of King's - following that, we learned about the Interregnum event (basically, a three-day period of focus on our yearly theme, Civilization - along with House competition events), and then we had a ceremony to sign the Honor Code.
The Honor Code states, "A student of the King's College will not lie, cheat, steal, or turn a blind eye to those who do. Every student is honor bound to report any other student who violates the Code." We were called up by House to sign the Code, and then our staff advisor came over to pray with us for the year. The signing of the Honor Code marked our entry as students to The King's College.
We were on our own again for lunch, and my room actually ended up coming back late to the Time Management seminar at 1. Oops. It was good to hear the reinforcement of sleep, eating, and study habits. I learned that one hour of massage is roughly equivalent to four hours of sleep ... very good to know, actually. After the TM seminar, the Great Race began.
I was on the planning team for the Great Race. This meant that I and five other Lewisians were given nine riddles that we had to solve. Each of these riddles pointed to a structure or location in New York City, and we had to determine where and (here's the tough part) send our team of runners to the location. There were six runners (including my remaining roomies), and they had to find the faculty member assigned to the location, and get their picture taken with him. They could also answer a "five-minute bonus" question on Robinson Crusoe for extra points.
Due to an ... ahem, tactical error, on the part of the planning team, the runners got sent up to the MET, which wasted half an hour, and moved us from a likely championship to fifth place. Reagan (hissss) won. We hope to redeem ourselves soon -- as soon as the next competition occurs.
For supper, we made Mac & Cheese, and cooperatively cleaned up. It worked well. Later that evening, we visited Chris (our Chamberlain) for brownies and a "roommate pact" discussion. It was actually a lot of fun, and we learned some things about each other that could've caused conflict later. And the brownies were excellent (completely homemade!).
Around 11:30, Zachary (Helmsman) came by to chat, and we had a discussion for about an hour, at which point we collectively decided to go to bed in order to get up the next day for classes. Got to bed around 12:30. Again.

NSO - "North," said Oscar

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:07:00 +0000

Actually, NSO is New Student Orientation, and we were quite involved in it yesterday. The attire of the day was business professional, and it was pleasantly warm in the City today. However, pleasant quickly became "suffocating." We were fortunately in the CUNY Graduate Center, a conveniently placed building around the corner from ESB, that included an auditorium. New students, parents, faculty, and student leaders were in attendance.
The morning lecture was 9 to 11, then we had a little discussion about the house system, and I ate lunch with Dad, Matt & family, and some of the Lewis leadership. It was good to hear their vision for the house this year.
At 2 PM, there was an information fair in the Lower Lobby of ESB - the only productive thing I did was get my network access and email configured. Then I hung out for an hour, met another admission guy, and headed back to the room.
Met back with the Lewis guys at the Lounge for House pictures and a night out on the town - went to Lombardi's just north of Little Italy for some brick-oven-baked pizza - excellent! Our president, Dustin Pope, gave us a little pep talk, and then I talked to David Lapp, our scholar, on the way back. It was fun.
Later in the evening, some girls from SBA (Susan B Anthony) came by to invite us to a rooftop worship event on the roof at 10 PM - went up, Matthias Clock played the guitar (excellent!) and we sang for about 45 minutes. Then more people came up and the group decayed. Ended up going to bed around 12:30 again. Big day, and bed was delightful. Tomorrow will be even better.

Church & Costco

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:58:00 +0000

So Sunday morning was rather confusing. When I woke up at 7:15, I had no idea what church I was going to attend - I didn't even know when the varied groups were leaving for services. After asking around within my room, I discovered that Kyle was visiting Morning Star New York (MSNY) with his parents. I looked the church up on the web, and it seemed fairly innocuous, doctrinally. So Dad and I went over there for the 11 PM service - we had to walk around ten blocks, which was not bad at all.
The service was excellent. Worship was powerful -- one of the most powerful I've ever witnessed. Then the message was well-presented as well - contemporary, yet insightful. I was compelled to take notes. Next week the church is moving to a new location, but it should still be within walking distance, and I plan to attend.
After church, Dad and I headed back to the apartment so I could change and we could get some lunch. However, Kyle's family arrived shortly, as did Matt, so we skipped eating and moved right into planning an afternoon food run. For an hour and a half, we debated the merits of going to Costco in Queens as opposed to Trader Joe's in Manhattan. Dad, Matt, and I ended up heading to Costco, while Kyle & his parents went to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's, however, was right next to the CUNY campus, with thousands of new students moving in that very day. So it was crowded. Costco was about ten blocks off the subway in Queens, so it wasn't that bad. After we filled it up with $150 worth of groceries (two suitcases full), hauling it back through the streets and subway turnstiles was quite the experience. It probably took us 1.25 hrs from Costco to the Vogue - about 2 miles. But it was worth it!
In the evening, went up on the roof again - talked to some Reaganites for a while. We are rooming next to the freshman Reaganites, so we've gotten to know them well. Hit the sack about 12:36 - latest of my room.

Moving Day

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:44:00 +0000

Yesterday was rather busy. We arrived safely in New York via the New Jersey Transit train, and then walked to the Vogue from Penn Station, not more than half a mile. No sooner had we arrived at the Vogue when 5-8 King's students and staff mobbed us, taking my bags, sending me up to check-in, and so forth. Then, since we were the first to arrive at the apartment, I quickly selected a bottom bunk, as recommended by our House Chamberlain. Dad swept the floor while I unpacked - then the remaining three roomates showed up -- all within ten mintues of each other. The situation quickly became chaotic.
On a side note, our apartments were much more spacious that I was expecting. We have a small kitchen/kitchenette, a rather spacious living room, four large closets (about twice as much as I was expecting), a linen closet, a coat closet, a cramped bathroom (to be expected), and a good-sized bedroom (with two bunk beds). We also have a balcony -- but no view whatsoever. Air conditioning, high-speed Internet, even a dishwasher ... better than home! I may post some pictures on Flickr.
The rest of the day was spent unpacking - I brought the least amount of stuff, by volume, but I don't know how much more is being shipped. There is still plenty of room regardless. In the evening, we had no pressing committments except to attend a student reception at 9 PM in the Student Lounge. We played an icebreaker game (called "Bunkbeds") and mingled for a while. After they kicked us out, twenty or thirty students were assembled on the roof of the Vogue, so I joined them with some of my roommates. I took an early night around 12:30 PM.
Church today, and free time later. We might go to Costco - there's some stuff we need to get.

The Tribulations of Travel

noreply@blogger.com (iowaprodigal) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 22:05:00 +0000

Getting to New York is proving to be half the experience. I left home yesterday, accompanied by my father and sister. We drove in our Honda Civic from Washington, IA, to Pittsburgh, PA, in just over 13 hours. Assorted stops aside, a good trip. No one got sick. Stayed with Dad's sister and husband overnight.

Tonight, we are flying out of Pittsburgh to Newark via Continental. Newark, however, has a low cloud ceiling, so our 5:50 PM flight is delayed until 8 or 8:30. This gives me a great chance to use the airport's free WiFi.

I said goodbye to my sister today ... she didn't seem real torn up about my departure. Mom cried yesterday morning, but that is to be expected. Now I just have to bid Dad farewell on Monday ... and then I will be completely on my own. Until Thanksgiving.

I'm just ready to get started - moving, meeting people, everything. I guess the waiting is important too - I can catch up on my required reading for this fall.